The Weight of the World is Temporary

A home improvement job might seem like a great idea at the onset. Then, you start getting to work, and things might get messy. The goal isn’t straight ahead anymore, and that leads to struggle. This is especially true in trying to live our lives out with God.

We know obedience is hard, but we think after taking the step of obedience things will get easier. The world around us lures us with the promise of easy and simplicity, like the red “EASY” button from Staples.

Everything is supposed to be about our lives getting easier, being made easier. From DoorDash to smartphones, this is a promise offered to us that always has a price tag, a transaction. Have you ever noticed that life doesn’t get easier, even with all those things?

Trust vs. Weight
Matthew 11:30
My yoke is easy and my burden is light. 

Any of us would take easy and light in a world where everything seems heavy and hard. But what it doesn’t mean is, “Do what I say so your life is simple.” It’s very different.

That seems to make much more sense in our life experience. Following God is rarely easy and sometimes feels really heavy.

This isn’t a trust issue at the outset, it’s a weight issue. We trust God with the call, we just struggle with the consequences, especially when things get confusing, disappointing, or messy. When we feel the weight, it causes us to question, which erodes our trust.

When we understand how God works, even if we aren’t sure what He’s doing, it can help build trust rather than weaken it. Instead of confusion when it comes to the what, when, and how, you get clarity when it comes to who (God is) and you (the part you play).

In the story of Abraham and Lot, in Genesis 13, Lot is Abraham’s nephew. They’re both wealthy, they both followed the call, the herds are growing, the land can’t support them both together in the same spot, the families are fighting, and God’s promise seems like it simply has produced problems and not a lot of payoff.

The natural response is to protect what you think was given to you, even if you think it was given by God. Don’t just hold onto the WHO of the promise, hold onto the WHAT.

The Promise
What’s the thing you’ve been given that you guard?

Genesis 13
8 So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”

Lot is younger, the beneficiary, not the one who should have been given a choice. Lot goes and grabs what looks like “the promise.”

Hold onto the promise with trust.